The Right to a Healthy Environment in the Era of Epigenetics: Between Jurisprudence, Pollution, and Prevention

Abstract

Environmental exposures linked to climate change and pollution can alter gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. Legal systems have only begun to take account of this. The paper examines what these findings mean for the right to a healthy environment. It reviews the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, recent advisory opinions of international courts, and selected European and Romanian rules, including the compulsory iodization of salt in Romania. A separate section asks whether epigenetic biomarkers can help applicants meet the evidentiary requirements of environmental litigation, in particular the victim-status test set out in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen. The paper argues that such evidence can corroborate traditional proof but cannot replace it, and that the precautionary principle offers the most suitable framework for risks that remain scientifically uncertain. It ends with proposals de lege ferenda for Romanian law